'72 GMC long/fleet in Ottawa area

[McDeezl]

Got the doors and fenders mounted, went somewhat better than I thought it would. The doors are very close, just a bit of tweaking with the gaps and lines. The fenders on other hand, go to the next post! Sat the cowl and hood on loose just to make sure there was nothing drastic out of whack there but they look ok. Cowl was blasted and epoxy primed a long time ago so not much to finish there ... and one of the few things from the original donor truck that got salvaged! The hood is the latest addition to my collection of hoods, California hood from Bill's. Surface rust but nothing gone through. Will get that blasted and epoxy coated and hopefully comes out with not too much body work to do.

[McDeezl]

So now about that fender thing I mentioned above.
After all this time and preparing these fenders to get to this stage didn't notice until the hood was sitting loose on top that there's a serious mixup.
The right (passenger) fender is a 69-72 Chev and the left (driver) is the correct 68-72 GMC. Lots of threads on here explaining the differences and maybe these two closeup pics will help someone quickly see what that difference is at some point.

Kinda disappointing for sure to get set back like that when things are rolling well but could have been much worse I suppose and not notice til it was closer to the end and more finished. New correct one is on the way from Bill's.

[McDeezl]

Ok, so managed to get the wrong fender issue straightened away. Many thanks to Bills Truck Shop for replacing at no charge!
Been a crazy summer for work so not a lot of time to work on this but managed to get the fenders done. Don't think I have ever measured something so many times over as the lines for upper and lower trim/paint. At least I had the existing holes in the doors and cab to work from as a start point but still. Taped the trim in place and adjusted, measured a million times, measured another million times and then finally marked it up and drilled the holes. Stressful!
Then the time sucking tasks of prep, prime, colour 1 (orange), prep and mask again for colour 2 (white) then prep and shoot clear. FYI its Omni single stage and then 2 coats of clear on top of that.
So pretty content with the result so far, looks not bad for a garage shoot I guess. Fenders are just hanging there loose, will come back off and all the bling (trim and emblems) goes on before mounting. Those nasty trim and emblem connections near the door/fender gap that are essentially impossible to get at otherwise. Then they go back on and hopefully for the last time.
The hood (#3) and outer cowl should be back next week from sandblast and epoxy prime. Hoping to get those shot before the weather cools off to the point that I can't shoot in the garage, probably another month left if I'm lucky. Then I'll have the winter to take care of cleaning up loose ends mechanically, lots of those.

[72 tigger]

looks great- sorry to hear about your fender

[McDeezl]

Thanks Tigger. I think what hurt the most was how dumb I felt for not having seen that mixup at the start. Was an extra few hours of work but not that big a deal. Could have been a lot worse especially if I had gone further down the road without noticing ... holes drilled and clear coated, etc.

[McDeezl]

A bit more progress .... got the front end doors / fenders / outer cowl mounted up for what is hopefully the last time. The skeptic in me says this may be wishful thinking but we'll see. The gaps aren't great but I can live with them for now. Mounted up the trim and emblems especially the ones near impossible to access once panels are all on. Only issue is the doors final mounting with the seals back on and don't close tight along the latch side. Will see if the seals (Precision slip on) collapse a bit over time and adjust with the door closed against them. Windshield and rear window are installed so it's starting to look more like a truck again. Wasn't able to get the hood painted before winter set in so that will have to wait for a few months. Started getting parts together for the box, will go with wood bed so lots of hours online searching for decent used stuff ... not an easy thing up here in Canada the corrosion capital of the world. Still I did find a set of wheel tubs, drivers side box panel, front panel all in surprisingly good shape so that's a good start. Still need a passenger side panel, all cross sills, the ultimate needle in the haystack -- gmc tailgate that isn't warped and bowed out. Hopeful I can find a passenger side panel somewhere, probably new cross sill set as they are pretty inexpensive and hard to screw up from a repop perspective, and probably no choice but repop for the tailgate.

[72 tigger]

Making progress- gaps look good

[McDeezl]

Thx .... the problem with the door seals is pretty well documented in other posts here so I'm certainly not the first to encounter that. They are getting a bit better after only a day or two and that's in cold weather so with a bit of heat it should all work out. For the gaps this is where you see what guys are talking about with repop panels. Both fenders are repops but cab and doors and cowl are OEM ... the front of door to rear of fender gaps you'll have maybe 1/8 top and bottom with 1/4+ in the center. End of the day gotta remember that this is a truck from the day when trucks were still trucks and this one is nothing more than a daily driver albeit a fairly nice one I hope.

[McDeezl]

Was just going through some archived photos of this thing and one stuck on me ... how far this cab has come through this. This is the California cab I got from Bill's after I got it blasted and epoxy coated. Minimal rust but hammered up pretty bad in the worst possible places. You can see the compound curves mid-rear and the cargo light hammered in at the roof. The compound curves at the rear top corners were even worse. Ended up having to cut out the inside panel to get at those curves and hammer them back out and weld back in again. Came out not bad all things considered but more hours than I could begin to count!

[McDeezl]

Score on used parts in the last week. Two separate ads online classifieds - first one was front bed panel and wheel tubs for wood bed in very good shape (green ones) - second one was left side bed panel, wheel tub, half of right side panel, hood, various small stuff all like new. Both here in Ontario pretty exceptional to find 50 year old body metal in that condition for this part of the world with winters and salt, etc.

Stopped by Bill's in Oshawa on return of 2 day trip (Ottawa to Sarnia) to pick the stuff up and got all new cross sills for the wood bed. Was originally thinking that the entire box would have to be all new repro metal because decent used stuff just doesn't exist in this part of the world but got lucky! Apparently it was a southern built truck that got wrapped around a hydro pole at rear right side of box so that's why the metal is so nice. All that's left to get now is the right bed side and GMC tailgate. May get lucky between now and Spring for the right side never know and the tailgate will almost definitely have to be repro, they just don't seem to exist anywhere in decent shape.

[McDeezl]

A bit more progress, got the Vintage Air system installed and Retrosound radio with kick panel speakers.
First the Vintage Air install ... Surefit Gen IV system. Pretty straightforward, their kit is really well put together with good instructions and everything you need. The only issue with my install was that the turnkey crate 350 came with an R4 compressor which as it turns out was the reason I decided to build an AC truck in the first place ... already have the compressor so might as well get the rest and build an A/C truck right? So when it came time to connect the hoses I realized that the R4 and turnkey crate didn't come with the fittings adapter on the back of the compressor so started looking online for one of those. While searching I quickly discovered the nothing but negative feedback on the R4 so decided to change that out for a Sanden 508 which is THE way to go. So another order to Vintage Air for that along with the adapter brackets to mount onto the serpentine drive setup. Had a bit of modification to do in order to make it fit, had one spacer I had to cut down a bit and different mount bolts on 2 of the 4 but it fits well and lines up perfect. Then I had to get a new drive belt as the original with the R4 was a bit short. Used a 18 ga wire that I looped through all of the pulleys into the serpentine grooves pulled tight to measure the length and actually got it right first crack. Thought I would end up buying 2-3 belts before I got it right! So it ends up being a 6PK2510 in case anyone doing this might need that info. 2510 is mm for length of the belt.

[McDeezl]

A few more Vintage Air install pics ... dash related and vents

[McDeezl]

The Retrosound Long Beach radio with Retrosound kick panels that have the angled mount for 6.5 speakers. Speakers are Infinity Kappa 62ix with an upgraded dual speaker in the dash ... not sure of make model. The sound quality is ok and I would say good for a 6.5 2-way speaker. Could always go with a powered sub under the seat at some point for the oomph thing but not really a priority for me to be honest. My '14 GMC has a Bose sound system for that. Install went well, Retrosound puts together a nice kit and everything you need with good instructions. The kick panels required some minor trim and adjustment but nothing too nasty. I put the USB cable and microphone for the hands-free phone inside the ashtray which works well enough for me.
Had to move the dimmer switch over a few inches and will have to do the same with the park brake foot lever.

[McDeezl]

Installed the 3-point seatbelts, got them from Wes. Pretty easy install but the recoil assembly anchor bolt on the driver side is a bit of a pain. Not a lot of room with the fuel tank and pillar. Didn't bother putting a center lap belt as there will never be more than 2 in the truck and planning to put a center console on the bench seat. Added a photo of the door and threshold plates which finish things nicely in addition to protecting scratches and chips.

[McDeezl]

A couple of other items off the list .... got the dome and cargo light install finished. Had to chase down a ground issue with the well known and documented "white wire". They operate by switched ground which comes from the headlight switch when turned ccw. In order for that to work the switch body itself needs to be grounded to the dash metal connection so had to scuff that up a bit for proper contact. I guess 45 years ago somebody thought that was a brilliant idea designing an electrical circuit that way!
Installed the fuel fill neck grommet which actually went better than I anticipated. Soaked it in soapy hot water for 15 mins and then added undiluted dishsoap to both the cab metal opening and the metal fill neck. Took a bit of persuasion with plastic pry tools but about 15 minutes and it was in.

So not a lot of items left on the sparks and bolts to do list ...
- Modify park brake foot lever and install with new Lokar cable assy
- Transmission cooling lines - just a jumper hose at the moment but will be 6ANC braided stainless hose and JIC fittings.
- Re-install the seat in the cab
- Door mirrors and rearview mirror
- Finish door windows and hardware (latches are done)

Should be able to knock those off in the next month or two and then probably May will be back to body and paint season. Hopefully this is the last and final season! Will start with the hood but I have a real nice condition one that should be quick and easy to do. Then its the box which will be a ton of work. Have mint condition used stuff described in post above and will need to get new aftermarket left bed side and tailgate. Will be doing a hardwood bed but that would be a real nice winter project I figure.

[McDeezl]

Doors are complete (windows) and sport mirrors mounted.
Did the mirrors first, much easier than trying to get that anchor plate on the inside and lining up the screws into it with all of the windows and guts in there.
Image below that I found in a few different threads here that explains the locations and dimensions for the sport mirrors .... dead on so just follow that.

Then on to completing the door hardware ... latch regulator and handles, etc. were already done so it was the glass related stuff left to do.
Found a YouTube video from Tremayne's that explains the order of operations, perfect and easy to follow can't miss with this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zay64xBOgD8
Sequence of assembly operations:
1) Latch regulator, handles, locks, etc.
2) Window regulator - roller into track inside door shell
3) Door glass - get both rollers into track and slide to rear of door
4) Vent window
5) Rubber window seal - top and rear edge
6) Rear lower window guide / rubber seal retainer
7) Inner and outer scraper seal / felt seal
8) Compression screw under vent window holding inner/outer door shell sections rigid - mine is a '72 and only applies to '71-'72 I believe

Snow is almost gone here so will probably get the park brake assy and cable done before moving back to body/paint ... and put the seat back in for the last time ... I hope!

[68bowtie]

Nice nice nice!

[McDeezl]

Got the park brake done.
Had to modify the pedal and lever, cut the lever arm and offset plate and weld by 1.5" to clear the speaker.
Installed the Lokar kit, super easy setup and even the cable anchor that goes in the frame rail hole fit perfect, better than original to be honest. Left the cable a bit long and will trim a bit more off for better adjustment .... easier than trying to make it grow back cutting too short!! The cable anchor has 2 set screws for locking the cable so easy to adjust for cut and fit.
Lokar p/n is EC-8001U

[McDeezl]

A bit more progress although not as much as I had hoped to cover this summer. Too many other things on the go especially work schedule. Got the hood done finally which ended up being way more hours to complete than I had anticipated. Came out ok although lots of small corrections to do that come with painting in the garage .... bugs, etc.
A lot of drama that came with painting the hood in the garage! Had to put the truck outside to have room inside to do the hood. Actually thought about throwing a tarp over it just in case but said "nah, it'll be fine and looks kinda cool parked out there" Should have gone with my first instinct! Rained a couple of times and enough to have water get below the wing nut on the air cleaner. You see where this is going??
Went to start the truck to bring it back in the garage and no crank whatsoever and knew right away it wasn't electrical related. Cylinders hydrolocked with water!! Pushed it back inside and went to work. Pulled the spark plugs and talk about a sinking feeling when water comes pouring out when you get the plug out! The back 2 cylinders on right side were full of water, combination of slant of engine / intake and open valves I guess. All plugs out I dumped a liter of new oil down the carb and intake and rolled the engine over, all sounded ok so maybe just maybe. Flushed inside of each cylinder with WD40 through plug holes along with oil down intake, changed oil and filter, new plugs, fingers crossed. It fired up right away and other than 15 minutes of what looked like sending smoke signals to Mars it cleaned right up and runs smooth. Talk about dodging a bullet! Figure I got lucky as it was completely locked and did not crank over at all. If it had cranked and then locked up the momentum would have been enough to bend a couple of rods. Phewffff!!!
So the engine is good, the hood is on and looks ok and I'm thankful to not be having to pull the engine.

[McDeezl]

I had hoped to be able to have the box sections all painted and ready for assembly before winter .... it was not to be however. So I do have it all mounted to mock up and get the lines marked up for trim / paint. Guess I'll have all winter to play with that and at least get all the prep work done on the sections and panels ready to shoot in the Spring. Its 95% prep and 5% shooting so will go fast once the warm weather comes back.
Mix and match of nice quality original body metal and new aftermarket metal.
Feels good to be looking at a near complete truck just the same!

[McDeezl]

Grille and chrome .... and aftermarket adventures.
The top bar, light bezels and eyebrows I got from that place in Kansas that shall remain nameless. Bought them a few years ago around the start of the project before I knew better. The grille is better aftermarket (not Kansas) so I have a bit more confidence in that but it is aftermarket as well at the end of the day.

So its all in place and as you can see the light bezels are still a bit off but slowly improving with twists and tweaks. Should be able to keep working them into acceptable range - fingers crossed. Passenger side is not bad but drivers side needs a bit more persuasion. The eyebrows ain't great at all but not ready to throw in the towel yet. A bit more patience and persuasion to go yet before I look into a plan B.

Questions .... any experience to add on working with aftermarket chrome especially the 71-72 GMC's? Would going to better quality aftermarket chrome especially eyebrows improve the situation or waste of time and $$? I've searched the threads on advice but other than "stay away from aftermarket" not much I can use to improve the situation. And those nasty mount clips in the back of the eyebrows .... is there a trick to getting them into place in the slots where they are supposed to slide a bit for adjustment? Any experience or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[McDeezl]

Still fighting with the front end chrome but getting there slowly but surely.
I replaced the rad support mounts with the proper '68 ones which dropped the support by about 1/2" and helped a bit but not enough. Incremental improvements I guess. At least the majority of it lines up to almost acceptable between hood, grille, bumper with respect to each other, etc.
Main issue now is the orientation of the light buckets to grille and bezel. The right side isn't terrible but the left side is. Looking like I am going to end up having to cut the spot welds for the double bucket mount on the left side and re-weld it into the correct position. I can tell you that I'm getting real good at taking that grille on and off! Will be a few more times yet before I get the light bucket mount moved into the correct position.

[McDeezl]

Got the hood and hinges mounted to what seems to be the best compromise I can get. Gap at the rear with the cowl is good and wouldn't want to make it any wider than that. Gap at the front with the top bar isn't great at all but short of stretching that hood about 1/2" can't see what can be done about it. Cowl and the top bar are exactly where they are supposed to be so??? I've read other posts here and guys with the same issue. Not the first and certainly won't be the last!

[McDeezl]

Bling time!
American Racing Torq Thrust II M series wheels, 17 x 8 all four corners.
Got a good deal online and got them delivered to U.S. address in Ogdensburg, NY, only a 1 hr drive for me to go pick up plus save on the sales tax side.
Mining company I used to work for (Noranda) owned American Racing for years so bit of extra cool factor plus the TT II wheels are about as classic as it gets on these trucks.
I'll order the rubber after the holidays online Canadian supplier I use, maybe better price we'll see. Rubber will be Toyo Proxes 245-60-17 which will give same diameter as the original 235-75-15's.

[McDeezl]

Got the front end chrome as buttoned up as it's going to get for now. Ended up drilling out the spot welds on the headlight pot mounts and adjusting and re-welding. Time and patience consuming for sure! The eyebrow mounts took some time and patience as well getting the mount clips to where they are supposed to be and then measuring about 12 times before drilling the holes in the fenders. Came out ok though. The only part I'm unsatisfied with is the gap at the front of the hood to the chrome top bar described above but no idea for now as to what can be done about that. Have seen other posts on the same thing.